People are walking in the Hill District

Throughout my years of living in the Hill District, I’ve noticed a few cultural trends on pedestrian behavior. One is just to stand around on the corners of Centre Avenue with nothing to do but watch people drive by or make obvious glances at women as they walk by. This happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They just stand there. Not at a bus stop, not smoking, not harrassing people or cars, just standing around. It’s weird, but pleasant in some weird way too. The second behavior is walking on the street. The sidewalk can be the cleanest thing and wide open, but they’ll walk right on the street. It’s very frustrating as a driver. sometimes, I liken it to the country, as you wait for cattle to cross the street. I’m not comparing residents to farm animals, more like showing that both the city and the country have their obstacles.

BUT TO THE POINT! Thanks to some engineering students at Pitt, the Hill District has designated walking paths! This is a pretty cool thing, in my opinion at least. Hopefully people will make use of the paths, I know that Erik does already. check out the post-gazette story and the official site.